In a taste of what would come if the U.S. were to take the lead in developing global alternative energy solutions, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has signed a multi-million dollar agreement to bring their expertise to an assessment of health risks in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) due to environmental factors.

And since the U.A.E. has gone from a small nomadic and seafaring economy to one that is highly industrialized in just the last 40 years as one of the fastest developing nations in the world the truth is that there is plenty of cause for concern. A fact leadership in that country fully recognizes, and is attempting to tackle before a serious burden of disease emerges among the general population.Ultimately, UNC researchers will partner with the U.A.E. University’s department of community medicine and the RAND Corporation to conduct the study. Expecting the two year project will shed light on the ways in which such rapid industrialization is affecting the health of its citizens and perhaps offering solutions on what can be done to mitigate those concerns.